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Last June, the Olympia Health and Nutrition Awards initiated a new trend in olive oil competitions: a focus on health benefits. In 2017, the Olympia Awards will continue, the Aristoleo Awards will expand, a new competition will debut in Malaga, Spain, and the London Competition will lead mainstream competitions into this new health-conscious territory.

The main focus of these competitions will be the phenolic content of the extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs). In recent years, many scientific studies have supported claims that EVOOs have numerous health benefits. Many of those benefits come from the phenols in EVOOs. As explained by Greek Liquid Gold, oleocanthal, one of the phenolic compounds in olive oil, is anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. Studies suggest that it may help prevent or treat illnesses including Alzheimer’s, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Another phenol found in olive oil, oleacein, is an anti-oxidant that seems likely to help prevent heart failure, hypertension, and oxidative stress.

High phenolic EVOOs have been drawing more attention sinceEuropean Union regulation 432/2012allowed a health benefit claim about them which stated, “Olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.” It continued, “The claim may be used only for olive oil which contains at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (e.g. oleuropein complex and tyrosol) per 20 g of olive oil. In order to bear the claim information shall be given to the consumer that the beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 20 g of olive oil.”

Also in 2012, according to Olive Oil Times,Dr. Prokopios Magiatis and his team at the University of Athens developed “a method using 1H-NMR, a form of nuclear magnetic resonance, to directly measure oleocanthal and oleacein levels.” Writing to Greek Liquid Gold from Italy, where he was invited “to transfer knowledge on the health benefits of olive oil to Italian producers,” Magiatis confirmed that he and his team will be involved in all four of the 2017 competitions mentioned above, and that they will all use the NMR method to analyze the EVOOs’ phenolic content. The Malaga competition will use NMR as well as two other methods; the other competitions will use only NMR.

All but the Olympia Awards will also consider the olive oils’ organoleptic properties (aroma and flavor), and the Malaga competition, the new World’s Best Healthy EVOO Contest, will also take into account the fatty acid balance. The competitions differ in their minimum olive oil production requirement for participation: for the Malaga competition, 4 metric tons are necessary; for London, 500 kilograms; for Aristoleo, 30 kilograms; and for Olympia, there is no minimum, so that small-scale producers may participate.

This past June, the Oleocanthal International Society (OIS) sponsored the Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards in Ancient Olympia, Greece, alongside its third conference. The OIS strives to “combine practical and clinical research to showcase the potentiality of this functional food,” olive oil rich in oleocanthal, according to their website. Magiatis, vice-president of OIS, explained that this was a uniquely verifiable, objective olive oil competition “that relie[d] mainly on the amount of specific health protecting phenols.”

For the first edition of the Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards, 540 samples of olive oil from 325 producers in 5 countries were analyzed to check their levels of several phenolic compounds: oleocanthal, oleacein, and all other tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol derivatives. All oils that exceeded the 250 mg/kg of phenols required for an olive oil health claim according to EU regulation 432/2012 were honored, while the three EVOOs with highest total phenolic content and the three with the highest oleocanthal content received special recognition. Producers of the healthiest EVOOs were also recognized. While 2017 competition details have not yet been published, a similar procedure is expected.

After a modest start with 27 Greek olive oils last spring, the second, much expanded edition of the Aristoleo Awards will be held in Nicosia, Cyprus in March with the slogan "Tasted, Tested and True." The website for last year’s competition explains that it sought “to discover, award and promote the olive oils which not only have high health protective content, but also have flawless taste,” since only EVOOs without taste defects were eligible for awards. This year’s competition will seek to explore “the many olive tree varieties that produce high phenolic EVOO from around the world,” according to founder Athan Gadanidis.

Aristoleo Awards will be given to the olive oil with the highest phenolic content, and no organoleptic defects, for each olive tree variety. Gadanidis explained to Greek Liquid Gold that “the purpose of this year’s Awards is to discover new high phenolic varietals and map their location, climatic conditions, age of trees, and geographic positioning” as well as harvest method and mill type—“valuable data to help us develop the best practices for farming methods, harvesting and milling” as we “begin to understand where the differences in phenolic concentration originate.”

A new competition, theWorld’s Best Healthy EVOO Contest, will take place in Málaga, Costa del Sol, Spain, in May. It is sponsored by the Oleocanthal International Society, Sociedad Andaluza del Oleocanthal-Asociacion Espanola, the Extra Virgin Olive Oil International Cooking Academy, and two laboratories. Samples will be tested for their balance between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, levels of total phenols, and levels of oleocanthal and oleacein, with only the best three EVOOs in each category winning the final top awards.

The first prize winners in each category at the World’s Best Healthy EVOO Contest will be invited to participate in the Health & Food Awards Gastronomy Competition in Malaga, where famous chefs will prepare four-course meals using their EVOOs, and an international jury of five specialists in gastronomy and organoleptics will judge which EVOO produced the best meal.

For the first time, an established mainstream international olive oil competition will also include a contest focused on olive oils’ health benefits as well as organoleptic characteristics. According to their press release, next April’s London International Health Olive Oil Competition 2017 aims to promote “olive oils with a health claim as a superfood product in international markets across the world. The goal is to promote the idea that the quality of extra virgin olive oil is directly related to health benefits.” Unlike other olive oil competitions, the London competition will include a health benefit score (70%, based on the phenolic concentration) and a taste score (30%).

Dr. Prokopios Magiatis commented to Greek Liquid Gold, “the appearance of 4 competitions regarding the health benefits of olive oil is a signal to the markets that from now on olive oil cannot be evaluated only based on its taste as a simple food.” There has been “a global change in how the consumers see olive oil: as a food that plays a critical role in the protection of health,” with “a unique advantage in comparison to all other vegetable oils. The competitions strengthen the healthy image of olive oil.”

Athan Gadanidis, founder of the Aristoleo Awards, argues that “the EU health claim labeling regulation has in fact created a new category of EVOO and inspired the development of new and more accurate methods of measuring phenolic compounds in EVOO. The EU health claim and how it has changed the olive oil industry is THE story for olive oil right now.” ____________

Thanks to Elawon for the photo of olive tree branches full of green olives at the top of this page, and thanks to Makaria Terra for the photo of their fresh extra virgin olive oil at the mill.

The begins by mentioning that 13 former Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the IOC Advisory Committee were formally recognized by the IOC “for their commitment to the olive sector and the role they played in the Advisory Committee.” These included Panayiotis Karantonis, Andreas Plemmenos, and Loukas Kollias from Greece. The newsletter then discusses imports of olive oil into Australia, where Greece is the 3rd largest supplier, after Spain and Italy. For table olive imports into Australia, Greece is by far the largest supplier “with 60.2% of the imported volume.” Next, the newsletter goes over the worldwide olive oil and table olive trade, noting that between October 2018 and July 2019 olive oil imports increased in Japan (23%); Russia (14%); Brazil (13%); China (12%); the US (9%); Australia (3%); and Canada (1%) compared to the same period the previous year. Extra virgin olive oil prices in the summer were lower than the previous year in Spain (20%) and Tunisia (18%), but similar to the previous year in Italy and Greece, with Italy bringing in by far the highest price and Spain the lowest.

"With its world-class olive oil winning kudos and awards in contests and a country whose very symbol is the olive tree, Greek producers and governments have let the international market slip away to countries and lesser brands."

"With U.S. tariffs on some Spanish olive oil imports coming into force, Greek producers should have an advantage over Spain. However, the nation has not been able to profit from exporting its olive oil" much in the past.

The newsletter begins with an overview of IOC meetings and workshops planned for October, including one finalizing a collaboration between the IOC and the University of Jaen. A noteworthy result of that collaboration: “The IOC expert course on the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oils will now be taught in English as well as Spanish.” A section on Canada shows that imports of olive oil--especially virgin—and olives have increased considerably since 2005, with about 5% of world imports of each going into Canada (a bit less for olives, but Greece is the second most important table olive supplier for Canada). Surveying the world trade in olive oil and table olives, the newsletter notes increased imports from October 2018 to June 2019 (compared to the same period in the previous year) in Japan (22%); Brazil (14%); Russia (13%); China (10%); the US (9%); and Australia (7%), with a decrease only in Canada, and only by 1%. Producer prices for olive oil were down (compared to the previous year) in the main producing countries in the summer, except for a 17% rise in Italy.

"The world’s third biggest producer is not generating the export earnings that it should." An unusually well-considered, in-depth, but not very encouraging discussion of the state of the Greek olive oil sector today.

In a usefully detailed discussion on Olivenews.gr, Vassilis Zampounis writes about expectations for the coming crop year's Greek olive oil production. "While the initial estimations were at 300 thousand tons, we are now looking at 240" thousand metric tons of olive oil from Greece this year. However, he adds a crucial point: "What should be emphasized though, is the spectacular improvement in quality compared to 2018/19." (The question about price increases should not alarm consumers, as it refers to currently very low Greek producer prices more than the cost in stores.)

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for August begins with an overview of the world trade in olive oil and table olives for October 2018 to January 2019. It notes increased olive oil imports in Japan (23%); China (15%); Brazil (14%); Australia (13%); Russia (12%); the USA (8%) and Canada (4%) compared to a year earlier, and increased table olive imports in four major importing countries from September through May. The newsletter also discusses producer prices during the summer in four major olive oil producing countries, with 18% decreases for extra virgin olive oil in Spain and Tunisia compared to the same time last year, a 4% drop in Greece, and a 17% increase in Italy, where prices are by far the highest.

The North American Olive Oil Association's report on an appeal to the United States Trade Representative by 19 American Congresspeople who urged that olive oil be removed from a list of products that could be subject to US tariffs on European imports.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for July mentions a seminar in Marrakech, Morocco, the IOC’s participation in the 42nd session of the Codex Alimentarius in Geneva, Switzerland, and the presentation of the Mario Solinas Quality Awards in New York. It includes an overview of the IOC’s collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to present “The New Olive Oil Kitchen” in New York City in June. Part of the IOC’s promotion campaign in the USA, this featured a discussion of “‘Olive Oil and the Plant-Forward Kitchen,’ which presents olive oil as a key component of the Mediterranean diet that can provide inspiration for contemporary American cooking” as well as being important in a healthy, sustainable cooking trend elsewhere. The newsletter also describes a seminar the IOC co-organized entitled “Olive-Oil Supplemented Diet: Impacts on Cancer, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Health.” It then discusses the world’s major importer of olive oil, the USA. It concludes with a summary of major points about world trade in olive oil and table olives in the 2018/19 crop year, including increased olive oil imports in Japan (25%), Australia (16%), Russia (16%), Brazil (15%), China (12%), and the US (9%), and olive oil producer prices in June, which were 40% higher in Italy, 19% lower in Spain, 18% lower in Tunisia, and the same in Greece, compared with the previous year.

Daniel Dawson writes that the Culinary Institute of America and International Olive Council "believe that increasing olive oil consumption is a complementary goal to promoting a shift toward plant-forward cooking," which could help fight climate change.

"Researchers from the Department of Pharmacognosy of Athens University in Greece, have managed to detect and isolate a constituent of extra virgin olive oil that could act against high blood pressure."

The European program Interreg Med Aristoil was "selected as the best program in its category for 2019 among dozens of interregional European programs." As the article says, "the aim of the ARISTOIL program is to increase the economic value of olive oil through demonstration and certification of its health protective properties and directly concerns more than 3000 olive growers participating in the program."

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for June opens with an overview of the 109th session of the council of members, which took place in Morocco, the focus of the newsletter’s next article and of the 125th edition of the IOC’s Olivae magazine. The newsletter discusses the IOC’s seminar on the future of the olive sector, an expert meeting on possible contaminant residues in olive oils and olive-pomace oils, and the imports of olives and olive oil in Brazil (where olive oil imports from Greece have increased considerably). Concluding with a look at the world trade in olive oil and table olives, the newsletter mentions that data on olive oil and olive pomace oil imports from October 2018 to March 2019 “show an increase of 19% in Japan; 18% in Australia; 16% in Russia; 13% in Brazil; 11% in the United States; 6% in China; and 2% in Canada.” Extra virgin olive oil producer prices at the end of May were down 12% in Spain and 18% in Tunisia compared to last year, but up 4% in Greece and 49% in Italy.

As Helen Skopis writes for Greek Reporter, there is concern in Greece about the possibility that US tariffs could be imposed on European olive oil, but also hope that this will not occur. Note the link (at the end) to a petition which urges avoidance of what the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA)'s executive director, Joseph Profaci, says would amount to a tax on the health of Americans.

The International Olive Council Market Newsletter for May 2019 opens with a focus on Egypt (the world’s leading consumer and 2nd producer of table olives) and news from the latest meeting (in Cairo) of the IOC Advisory Committee. News from Egypt comes with information about table olive consumption and production worldwide. The newsletter goes on to discuss a course on table olives in Egypt, a conference and meetings in Peru, and visits to the IOC from a Chinese delegation and the Olive Oil Sommelier Association of Japan. There is an overview of trade in olive oil and table olives in eight markets from October to February 2019, showing increased olive oil imports in Australia (21%), Japan (19%), Russia (19%), the USA (17%), Brazil (15%), and Canada (7%), with imports falling only in China (4%) compared to last year. There were more modest increases in imports of table olives in four countries. The newsletter concludes with a look at producer prices for olive oil in the major producing countries. Prices fell in Spain (21%), Tunisia (18%), and Greece (10%) compared to last year but continued their climb in Italy, where they are 48% higher than last year.

"The certification process for 14 varieties of olive is underway at the state-run Olive Tree Institute of ELGO Demetra based in Chania, a development that Greek Nurseries are watching with great interest but also caution as it could satisfy their long-standing demand for certified propagating material."

Sakellaropoulos Organic Farming recently won its 100th award for its organic products, including its olive oil. "It is the only Greek business which has managed to win such a large number of prizes and awards in an array of worldwide shows and competitions."

The International Olive Council’s Market Newsletter for April 2019 begins with a focus on the Mario Solinas Competition, which seems to have been largely a contest among Spanish, Portuguese, and Moroccan olive oils this year, with a handful of entries from ten other countries. The newsletter also discusses “a meeting on the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oil at IOC headquarters in Madrid” concerning “recent updates on organoleptic assessment, sensory analysis panel harmonization and the classification of virgin olive oil.” It mentions plans to launch “a portal that gathers scientific information on the health benefits of olive oil and olive products,” the Olive Health Information System, or OHIS, “in the coming months.” It includes a market report that shows increases in olive oil imports in several key markets from October 2018 to January 2019: Australia (31%), Japan (18%), Russia (17%), Brazil (13%), and Canada (12%); Australia, Brazil, and Canada also increased imports of table olives. Some of the dates in the discussion of olive oil producer prices seem rather mixed up, so those interested may want to consult the graphs at the end of the newsletter.

Interested for years in "the health benefits of phenolic compounds in olive oil, ... [Athan] Gadanidis had told Dr. Magiatis that they needed a human subject to test the benefits of olive oil in treating prostate cancer. Ironically, he would be that subject himself."

With olive oil production considerably decreased in Italy and Greece but increased in Spain and Portugal, this article offers food for thought about reasons and responses. It also notes that quality remains high in Greece and Italy.

The International Olive Council newsletter for March opens with a look at developments related to olive oil in Albania, Japan, China, and Poland. It continues with an Open Call for Experts “and laboratory leaders working on possible contaminants in olive oils and olive-pomace oils to express their interest in participating in data collection and method validation.” The newsletter moves on to world trade in olive oil and table olives, with a focus on Japan, the fourth largest importer of olive oil in the world, mostly from Spain and Italy, with imports up by 18% in the first three months of the crop year, compared to last year. More generally, trade in olive oil and olive pomace oil began the 2018/19 crop year with significant increases in the first three months (October – December 2018): “28% in Russia; 25% in Australia; 18% in Japan; and 15% in Brazil.” Table olive trade also increased in some countries. Extra virgin olive oil producer prices remain considerably lower than last year in Spain (25%), Tunisia (18%), and Greece (14%), but much higher in Italy (46%).

This Olive Oil Times article avoids the overgeneralizations we see in most publications about the current olive harvest year, showing that the situation in several countries is more complicated than many think.

The International Olive Council newsletter for February has a new look and quite a lot of information about past and future meetings (in Egypt, Japan, Germany) and projects (the Horizon2020 project called OLEUM). Noteworthy: “the International Olive Council plans to award 20 scholarships for the university specialisation course in the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oil (university expert diploma) taught at the University of Jaén (Spain).” Applications are due March 15, and this is open only to those fluent in Spanish, the language of instruction. Italy has proposed a new classification for extra virgin olive oil, which it suggests be limited to olive oil with an acidity of no more than 5% (instead of the current 8%). “A proposal must be officially presented to the [IOC] Council of Members so that the Executive Secretariat can take the steps necessary to study the issue at hand.” In market news: worldwide table olive consumption has increased by 178.7% since 1990. In the first two months of 2018/19 crop year, October to November 2018, eight markets increased their olive oil imports, compared to the same time last year: Australia (38%), Brazil (31%), Russia (25%), Japan (19%), Canada (15%), and China (5%). Extra virgin olive oil prices in Italy have continued to increase and remain far higher than in Spain, Greece, and Tunisia.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Olivenews.gr that the Greek olive oil market is now characterized by low demand and low prices, since excellent extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) are much less common than last year, with some exceptions for very high quality EVOOs in Laconia and Crete.

This confirms expectations that this difficult crop year, due to weather and olive fruit fly problems, means less olive oil from Greece, with quality problems in many areas. On the other hand, Ioannis Kampouris says, "The producers who devoted time to cater to their groves and executed precise crop-dusting operations received olive oils of high quality, provided that harvest and processing of the olives occurred on time.... So, instead of the usual mass production, small producers will be able to demonstrate their quality products.”

Danielle Pacheco provides an overview of the big picture of olive oil production this year according to European Commission figures, with Greece producing the 2nd largest amount of olive oil, after Spain, and the total production worldwide not too much less than last year.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Olivenews.gr that "official information from the Spanish Ministry" leads him to expect 1.6 million metric tons of olive oil from Spain this crop year, rather than the more optimistic 1.76 million estimated by the European Commission.

As Ylenia Granitto writes for Olive Oil Times, "the International Olive Council and the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies organized a seminar with the goal of consolidating a common action plan against Xf." (Xylella has not been reported in Greece to date, but vigilance is encouraged.)

At the 108th meeting of the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (IOC) in November, the rotating leadership was transferred from Argentina to Egypt. In the context of a World Olive Day celebration, the newsletter offered an overview of who is involved with the IOC, and what the IOC does. At a CO2 International Seminar, the IOC’s algorithm to calculate the carbon footprint of olive oil was presented and discussed, and additional research on olive trees’ ability to extract carbon from the atmosphere was encouraged. The topics covered at the 52nd meeting of the Advisory Committee on olive oil and table olives were mentioned. The rest of the newsletter focused on world trade in olive oil and table olives, noting a significant decrease in olive oil imports in the 2017/18 crop year in Brazil and Canada and a slight decline in the USA, and discussing fluctuations in olive oil prices through mid November, as compared to the previous year.

Vassilis Zampounis updated his expectations for olive oil production from the major Mediterranean producers on Olivenews.gr. The big picture, worldwide, is better than he had expected earlier, although that is not true for Greece.

Costas Vasilopoulos provides an overview of expectations for this year's Greek olive oil production in Olive Oil Times, noting that "a reduction in quality and quantity is expected in the majority of olive oil making territories compared to last year."

This article describes "an international seminar on olive and climate change, which analyzed the positive environmental impact of this crop," at the headquarters of the International Olive Oil Council (IOC) in Madrid, where World Olive Day was also celebrated.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for October begins with an overview of Brazilian olive oil imports (only 1% from Greece), a September meeting about how to “to prevent, control and mitigate the effects of the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in olive trees” and a December seminar on “Integrated Action against Xylella fastidiosa to Protect Olive Trees and International Trade,” then moves on to world trade in olive oil and table olives. Notable figures for October 2017- August 2018 include a 28% in imports of olive oil into Brazil and 16% increase into Canada, and an 89% increase in imports into the EU, especially from Tunisia. OIive oil producer prices fell slightly in Spain and Greece in recent weeks, while passing 5 euros per kg by mid October in Italy.

In this article (in Greek), Vassilis Zampounis reports that the powerful Xenophon and Zorba storms that hit Greece this fall led to reduced expectations for the country’s olive oil production; instead of the 240,000 metric tons he predicted before, he now expects 210,000 from Greece. On the other hand, his prediction for Italy is unchanged at 190,000, while the forecast for Spain has improved, going up to 1.6 million metric tons.

This is an interesting summary of many of the topics covered at the recent conference at Yale School of Public Health, which convened a committee to plan a new olive institute at this prestigious American university.

"Seven companies in Greece that produce table olives and extra virgin and virgin olive oil were the first in the country to display a 'Greek Mark' on their labeling, part of a project to distinguish Greek products in foreign markets."

The IOC reports on provisional data for global olive oil production for the 2017/18 crop year, with 3,315,000 metric tons produced overall, which is a 28% increase compared to the previous crop year, and a 9% consumption increase. The major producing countries for 2017/18 were Spain (1,256,200 metric tons), Italy (428,900), Greece (346,000), Tunisia (280,000), Turkey (263,000), Morocco (140,000), and Portugal (134,800), according to figures provided by each country. Except for Spain, whose production had fallen by 2.7%, each of these countries enjoyed a significant increase in production compared to the previous year, although the increase varied from 27% in Morocco to 180% in Tunisia. “According to the official country data and the estimates of the IOC Executive Secretariat, world production in 2018/19 is estimated at around 3 064 000 t, which would be a decrease of approximately 7.6% compared to the previous year. Consumption is expected at 2 916 500 t…. At this point in the year it is still too early to judge the accuracy of these estimates and the figures that the Council of Members will examine at the end of November will be more solid, unless exceptional weather conditions intervene.” Specifically, these are the current forecasts for major producing countries: Spain, 1,550,000 metric tons; Italy, 270,000; Greece, 240,000; Turkey, 183,000; Morocco, 145,000; Portugal, 130,000; Tunisia, 120,000. For table olives, “world production for the 2018/19 crop year is estimated at 2 735 500 t, a 7% decrease compared to the previous crop year.” Tables provide an overview of imports of olive oil and table olives during most of the 2017/18 crop year, and graphs show major producer countries’ olive oil price fluctuations over the last few years.

Mercacei reports on the European Union's olive oil market in the last production year, as well as providing estimates for this year, including expectations for 240,000 metric tons of olive oil from Greece in the harvest year starting now.

Compared to last year, the Greek olive harvest is "expected to be slimmer mainly due to the production cycle of the olive trees, and the olive fruit fly has again made its presence felt in many areas of the country." However, some growers are more hopeful than others; the situation is not uniform throughout the country.

As Costas Vasilopoulos writes for Olive Oil Times in his summary of some of the benefits of the new deal, "By discarding its own labeling rules and by adopting the rules of the IOC, Japan will make it a lot easier for bottlers and exporters to send their olive oils to this part of the Far East.... The Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Embassy in Tokyo told us that they foresee an indirect benefit for olive oil from the opening of the Japanese market to EU products, which will prompt consumers to opt for more products from the EU member states."

This edition of the International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter provides an overview of the IOC’s upcoming activities and meetings, including some leading up to World Olive Day on November 22. For example, the IOC’s Statistics Working Group will meet October 1 to discuss estimates for the upcoming and past harvest years, among other topics. Olive oil chemistry and standardization issues, categories, and debates will be addressed at a number of meetings. The newsletter also provides an overview of olive oil trade from October 2017 to June 2018 (and table olives during a similar period), noting a 29% increase of olive oil imports into Brazil and a 98% increase in imports into the European Union from outside the EU, mainly from Tunisia. Changes in producer prices in major olive oil producing countries are also summarized, with significant reductions compared to the same time last year (26-27% less for Greece, Italy, and Spain, 18% less in Tunisia) and considerably higher prices in Italy than in the other three.

At the 107th session of the International Olive Council (IOC) Council of Members in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from June 18-21, the council discussed updated data on olive oil and table olives for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 crop years (provided here for olive oil). After the council meeting, the IOC and “the Argentine authorities held an international seminar on the olive oil sector in the Americas.” After summarizing what was covered there, the newsletter goes on to discuss world trade in olive oil and table olives, noting changes in imports in major countries from October through April, including a 29% increase of olive oil imports in Brazil, but a 17% decrease of imports in Australia. The newsletter ends with a discussion of olive oil producer price changes in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia, where prices are all considerably lower than they were a year ago (28-31% lower in the European countries, 18% lower in Tunisia). Prices in Italy and especially Tunisia have been relatively stable in recent weeks, with a slight increase lately in Italy, while prices in Spain and Greece had been falling, then increased a bit in Spain while stabilizing in Greece, according to an IOC chart in the newsletter.

Greek scientists in Greece and at Yale University "conducted a study in which they propose measures to advance sustainable olive oil production and advertise the nutritional value of olive oil products, as well as for the creation of a park and museum on the subject in the town" of Delphi, and both Greek officials and Yale University support the proposal.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for May 2018 opens with a focus on olive and olive oil production, harvesting, consumption, exports, and varieties in Argentina, which currently holds the IOC presidency and will host the IOC’s session of the Council of Members June 18-21. The newsletter then provides an overview of world trade in olive oil and table olives. It discusses olive oil imports in 8 major markets this harvest year, with a significant increase in Brazil (21%), a major decrease in Australia (19%), and smaller changes in other countries. Table olive imports had mainly modest changes. Producer prices for extra virgin olive oil are more than 30% lower than the same time last year in Greece, Italy, and Spain, and down 19% in Tunisia.

The International Olive Council's Market Newsletter for April provided updated statistics for olive oil and table olive production in the 2017/18 crop year, mentioned an upcoming international seminar on the Olive Sector in the Americas (June 22, Buenos Aires), discussed promotion campaigns in China and Australia, and offered an overview of world trade in olive oil and table olives, as well as recent trends in producer prices. One noteworthy statistic: "World production (Graph I) for this campaign was estimated in November 2017 at 2 988 500 t, but according to the most recent country figures received, production stands at around 3 271 000 t, which is a 27% increase (+697 000 t) compared to the previous crop year."

A new society has been established in Greece to support development, promotion, collaboration, and education "to improve the prospects of the Greek olive sector, while shaping a better environment for the flagship products of Greece: olive oil and table olives."

At the 51st meeting of the Advisory Committee of the International Olive Council (IOC), "the Advisory Committee addressed a number of questions and reaffirmed the validity of the panel test for the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oils, calling for its reinforced application and protection from false reports which helped neither the sector nor the Organisation."

Following a discussion of historical and current olive and olive oil production in Jordan, the newsletter continues to a discussion of olive oil and olive imports into selected countries from September or October to January and concludes with a summary of olive oil producer price trends in major producing countries. Extra virgin olive oil producer prices decreased in Spain and Greece over the last few weeks and remained stable in Italy, with prices in all three countries (especially Italy) lower than during the same period last year.

The story of the Pierrakos family, Greek immigrants to the USA who dedicated themselves to producing and bottling high quality 100% Greek extra virgin olive oil before many Greeks had started doing that.

The International Olive Council’s February Market Newsletter opens with a spotlight on the Japanese olive oil market, noting growth in its import market since 1991 and in consumption since 1997 and discussing Japanese olive oil production, imports, consumption, knowledge, and interest in quality. (Only 1% of the olive oil imported into Japan comes from Greece.) The newsletter then turns to worldwide trade in olive oil and table olives, noting slight increases and larger decreases in imports of olive oil and olive pomace oil from October to December 2017 in several key countries, and a 40% increase in imports into the EU, especially from Tunisia, Argentina, and Morocco. Table olive imports also fell in several countries. Recently, producer prices for olive oil decreased slightly in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia, with the first three countries’ prices all lower than a year ago (especially Italy’s).

As Isabel Putinja write for Olive Oil Times, "Makri is an indigenous Greek olive variety cultivated in Alexandroupoli in northeastern Greece close to the border with Turkey, a region located in the western part of the geographical and historical region known as Thrace. An application was submitted to the European Commission on January 11 to include the Greek olive variety “Elaiolado Makris” (also often called “Makri”) on the EU’s list of food products with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status."

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for January opens with a reference to the IOC’s Olive Oil Promise promotional campaign, which was launched in the USA last month at a scientific conference at the University of California at Davis that focused on olive oil’s health benefits. (A link is provided with abstracts of the papers presented there.) The newsletter discusses and graphs the growth in imports of olive oil over the last 25 years in the USA, the world’s leading importer of olive oil. Increasing imports of bulk olive oil in the USA are noted and graphed, with most coming from Spain. Graphs also indicate the amounts of different types of olive oil imported into the USA in recent years, with extra virgin leading. The newsletter then summarizes key points about world trade in olive oil and table olives, noting a decrease in olive oil imports in several major markets (especially China) in October and November. Extra virgin olive oil producer prices have changed slightly in Spain and Greece but decreased 29% in Italy and 12% in Tunisia compared to last year.

The co-writers of the "Olive Encyclopedia: The olive oil" announced on January 23rd the establishment of the "Olive Encyclopedists Society," starting with 29 distinguished scientists interested in interdisciplinary collaboration focused on olives and olive oil. The society supports cooperation among academics, the olive oil industry, and olive growers to foster innovation. Other scientists who share these goals will be invited to join the society later, as well.

This newsletter discusses the growing worldwide production and consumption of table olives, which was noteworthy, for example, in Greece, which is also increasing table olive production this year by 31% compared to last year. It also mentioned the health benefits of olives and olive oil sales in the previous crop year. The newsletter concluded with an overview of olive oil producer price trends in the main producing countries through the end of December, with prices stable in Spain, falling in Italy and Tunisia, and falling, then stable, in Greece.

An overview of a very funny series of Greek-language videos about strong rivalries among olive oil producers in different parts of Greece, poking fun at regional stereotypes while emphasizing each area's pride in its own olive oil and great care to produce an excellent product. The videos are here, but there are not yet any English captions.

Research under way in Crete, Greece and with various partners around the world seeks to collect samples to save in order to preserve genetic variety, "to increase sustainability and olive oil quality...and to face existing and new problems," including those related to climate change.

In its Market Newsletter for November 2017, the International Olive Council discussed world olive oil production figures for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 crop years, with Greece's 195,000 metric tons in 2nd place behind Spain worldwide in the earlier period. “The latest official national estimates” call for a 14% increase in world olive oil production for 2017/18, with Spain expected to produce 1,090,500 metric tons, Italy 320,000, and Greece 300,000. Notable increases in consumption were reported in Brazil, China, and Australia for 2016/17. World trade and producer prices are also covered in the newsletter; producer prices have fallen in all the major producing countries in recent weeks.

Data adopted at the 106th session of the International Olive Council (Madrid ,Spain), 21-24 November 2017, on olive oil production, imports, consumption, and exports for the crop years from 2015/16 to 2017/18, the latter an estimate.

In September, the two Greek olive oil packers’ associations, SEVITEL and ESVITE, officially merged into one under SEVITEL, the Association of Greek Industries and Packers of Olive Oil, following a unanimous decision by the general assemblies of the members of both organizations.

In a pdf that provides an overview of production, consumption, import, and export of various edible oils, the United States Department of Agriculture predicts that worldwide production of olive oil for the 2017/18 harvest year will be 2.7 million metric tons, with Spain’s decreased production due to drought “likely to be offset by growth in other producers.”

A new contest in Greece sponsored by the Friends of Olive Oil (FILAIOS) focuses on innovation in the Greek olive oil world (not on olive oil quality, but on innovation at all stages, "from the fields to the shelves").

"Dry conditions over the last six months in Greece have created anxiety in the olive oil industry over yield this season. Producers are reporting, however, that their production might be better than expected."

Greeks hope the upcoming enforcement of a law requiring use of bottled and branded olive oil on restaurant tables will bring Greek extra virgin olive oil more of the recognition it deserves worldwide. This article mentions an Athens event that will discuss this, among other topics.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Olive News (so far only in Greek) that olive oil prices seemed higher than last year in Greece as of October 23. However, the recent rains in Greece were generally beneficial for both olive oil quantity and quality. There is evidence, for example in Spain, that the market expects a gradual price decline. Spain's production, though, is expected to be a modest 1.1 to 1.15 million metric tons this harvest year, with some quality problems. Other Mediterranean countries, including Tunisia with 300,000 tons forecast, will have to compensate for Spain's shortfall.

This newsletter covers olive oil and table olive imports in Brazil, the October IOC Advisory Committee meeting, and world trade in olive oil and table olives, including producer prices in major exporting countries. Some highlights: In the first 11 months of the 2016/17 crop year, there was a noteworthy increase in olive oil and olive pomace oil imports in Brazil (21%) and China (13%), as well as a 20% increase in Australian imports through July. Imports slightly decreased in the USA and Canada. Producer prices have remained stable in Spain in recent weeks, around 19% higher than last year. Italian prices have been decreasing but remain 7% higher than last year. Prices have increased slightly in Greece, coming to 32% higher than last year, while Tunisian prices have been falling but are still 14% higher than last year. (Comparisons are all between the end of October in 2017 and 2016.)

This is Isabel Putinja's interesting, concise summary of a 12-page European Parliament report (available in full here) focused on the European Union olive and olive oil sector, including a number of statistics, for example about how much is produced, imported, and exported where.

This newsletter provides provisional data for olive oil production in the 2016/17 crop year, according to the IOC Statistics Working Group, which expected total worldwide production of 2,538,000 metric tons, or a 20% decrease compared to the preceding crop year. For example, production was expected to come to 1,283,600 tons in Spain (-8.5%), 195,000 in Greece (39%), 182,300 in Italy (-62%), 177,000 in Turkey (+24%), 110,000 in Morocco (-15%), and 100,000 in Tunisia (-29%). Country data and IOC Executive Secretariat estimates for 2017/18 worldwide production called for 2,854,000 metric tons, or 12% more than the previous year, although the report indicates that more solid estimates will come at the end of November. Spain was expecting 1,150,000 metric tons of olive oil (-10%), Italy 320,000 (+75%), Greece 300,000 (+54%), Tunisia 220,000 (+120%), Turkey 180,000 (+2%), Morocco 120,000 (+9%), and Portugal 110,000 (+58%). The newsletter also provides table olive production estimates for the 2017/18 crop year and reports on world trade in olive oil and table olives and producer prices.

"Agricultural innovation, price volatility and marketing standards are some of the main challenges that the European olive oil sector is facing, according to a report published by the European Union Parliament's Research Service (EPRS)." This informative article discusses each challenge.

In this article in Olive News, Vassilis Zampounis provides the latest predictions for the upcoming crop year's olive oil production in Greece. Most areas in Greece expect an increase in production compared to the 2016/17 crop year.

The June newsletter covers the following topics: olive oil import trends in China, the International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) proposal that the World Customs Organization consider “aligning the customs headings with the definitions established in the IOC standard for olive oils and olive-pomace oils, providing a definition for each heading,” world trade in olive oil and table olives, and olive oil producer prices. Imports in olive oil and olive pomace oil have increased by 36% in Brazil, 32% in Australia, 17% in China, 8% in Canada, and 4% in Japan in the first 7 months of the current harvest year, compared with last year. Producer prices for extra virgin olive oil have decreased a bit in recent weeks in Spain, Italy, and Tunisia, while remaining stable in Greece. Prices in Italy are 66% higher than last year, and approximately 30% higher than last year in the other three main producing countries.

Includes “an update of the figures sent by the member countries for 2015/16 (definitive) and 2016/17 (provisional)” on worldwide olive and olive oil production, consumption, and trade, as well as producer price movements in olive oil. The IOC estimates that worldwide olive oil production in 2016/17 “will decrease by approximately 20% compared to the previous crop year,” with European producers down by 25%, Spain producing 8% less than last year, Italy 61% less, and Greece 39% less. For this crop year it is expected that “world consumption will exceed production by 13%.” Producer prices at the end of May showed increases of 36% for Spain in comparison with the same time one year earlier, 66% for Italy, and 30% for Greece, although Spain’s late May price is 6% less than the “maximum price in the third week of August 2015” (important since Spain produced 50% of the world’s olive oil this year). One good point: “The representatives of both the olive oil and the table olive sectors predicted a year-on-year increase in production in 2017/18. The current flowering conditions point to a good crop in most producer countries provided the favourable climatic conditions continue.”

The International Olive Council's (IOC's) Market Newsletter for April 2017 discusses olive growing and olive oil production, consumption, and exports in Italy and then provides more general information about the following: selected olive oil imports worldwide (with large increases in Australia, Brazil, and China); table olive imports; and producer prices in the main olive oil producing countries (considerably higher than in the same period last year, especially in Italy, but less so in Greece).

A report on a study coordinated by professors from Spain and Uruguay includes data about the area covered by olive groves worldwide and in leading countries, as well as information about irrigation, olive and olive oil consumption, related employment, and more.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Greek in Olive News that “international consumption triumphs” over difficulties in the olive oil world. As he shows in a chart with his Greek article on the subject, the main olive oil importing countries “are showing excellent behavior, significantly increasing consumption …despite rising prices, offsetting any problems” with decreasing consumption “in Mediterranean countries…and presaging exciting developments.” Specifically, Zampounis reports, “imports (consumption) rose by 73% in Australia, 37% in Brazil, 31.5% in China, nearly 20% in Canada, 16% in Japan and 4.5% in the US” from October 2016 to January 2017.

At a conference organized by the Society of Olive and Olive Oil Products of Certified Quality (EL3P) at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) on March 23, experts focused on olive and olive oil quality and the current situation of the Greek olive oil industry.

This article is in Greek, but as it offers an important update on Spanish olive oil production, I summarize it here. Vassilis Zampounis reports in Olive News that the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture announced Spain’s latest olive oil production figures, as of the end of February, for the 2016/17 harvest year. Zampounis reports that February output in Spain was 156,578 metric tons, so that the entire 2016/17 marketing year reaches 1,229,289 metric tons in that country. With little more expected in March, the target of 1.3 million tons will only be approached, but not achieved. Even so, Zampounis suggests that with the end of uncertainty about Spanish production, the markets should now be calmed.

"Olive oil prices are 30% higher than the EU average for the last five years (38% regarding Italy) and are expected to remain that way or even higher due to the lower harvest, to the constant demand and the weakness of the supply in third countries, as well as to the insufficient rain registered so far with regard to the next production cycle in Spain, according to a report by the European Commission (EC)."

This newsletter discusses olive oil's health benefits; significant increases in the olive oil market in China since 2001; IOC meetings about Xylella fastidiosa and a pilot nursery project; increased olive oil sales in countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, and Japan; table olive trade; and EVOO producer prices, which have continued to increase in Spain and Italy but remain stable, and generally lowest, in Greece.

This newsletter explains that table olives strengthen immune systems with their probiotic microorganisms and offer antioxidants especially important to athletes, notes a 182% increase in table olive consumption worldwide since 1990, charts the olive consumption levels in a number of countries, discusses increased olive oil imports at the beginning of the current crop year, considers the table olive trade so far, and surveys olive oil producer prices during the crop year so far and over the past few years.

This article by Marilyn Harding describes an important development in the Greek olive oil industry today: "the highly coveted medicinal quality of olive oil that built a civilization and is helping to revive the modern Greek economy," with the help of some dedicated producers of ultra-healthy high phenolic extra virgin olive oil. (December 14, 2016)

"The International Olive Council (IOC) participated in the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), which was held in Marrakech (Morocco) from 7 to 18 November 2016, and whereby the UN sought to adopt a framework for action against global warming." The IOC explained "how, through the adoption of appropriate agricultural practices, olive trees can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

Alice Alech writes, "Learning to appreciate olive oil at an early age is an advantage to young adults; it puts them on the right path towards a healthy lifestyle later on.... Research carried out in Greece on 190 high school students show that teenagers once they are made aware of the sensory properties, and the analysis of extra virgin olive oil can distinguish between extra virgin olive oil and defective oil. The results also showed that the young adults aged between 13 and 15 years old were able to recognize rancid and muddy sediment in olive oil." (November 28, 2016)

"The International Olive Council attended the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) to present research on sustainable olive oil production." (November 18, 2016)

The identification of olive cultivars according to the appearance of leaves and fruit is expected to serve as the basis for a phone app and contributions to a new international olive tree database. (November 4, 2016)

On May 20, 2016, the FDA announced the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease.”